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Gwydion (KQ)
Gwydion is the name of several individuals with ties to Manannan. In KQ3, it was the name Manannan gave to Prince Alexander, whom he had made slave boy on top of his mountain in Llewdor. There are even stories that link Manannan with a Welsh hero by the name of Gwydion.King's Quest Companion, 2nd Edition, pg 485 Background There are many tales told of Gwydion, a great magician and maker of illusions. He is said to have had a way with words, and the name Gwydion even means "to speak poetry". Many of the tales of Gwydion are of his youth as a magician and warrior. Unlike the Gwydion of Daventry, the Welsh youth Gwydion was head-strong. He became embroiled in a number of dubious, if not evil, incidents. In one, he and his brother stole a pair of animals from King Arawn of the underworld. In the ensuing battle of Cad Goddeu, Gwydion transformed a forest into an army of sentient trees. At another time, Gwydion cast his illusions to start a war in order that his brother might obtain a woman he desired. That act led to massacre, murder, and worse. The punishment Gwydion and his brother suffered for their acts was to be turned each year into beasts that must mate with each other. Their offspring were to be their reminders of how they had offended nature. In later life, Gwydion redeemed himself and became known as a giver and restorer of life, working with the natural world for good purposes.KQC, 2nd Edition, pg 473, 474 Slave Gwydion The slave Gwydion was kidnapped soon after his birth by the wizard Manannan himself, near the shores of Lake Maylie (or from his royal nursery). Manannan renamed him Gwydion. Manannan had a cat (a previous rival of Manannan's that got the cat cookie treatment) who doesn't like Gwydion. Gwydion was forced to work for Manannan as a slave. He was nearing his 18th birthday and he knew that he was soon going to die, so he prepared his plan of escape. He knew that Manannan was extremely punctual and his life ran like clockwork. So he knew he could sneak around at certain times and learn things around the country of Llewdor and within Manannan's home. Eventually, he learned different spells during his secret travels around the land of Llewdor, and turned Manannan into a cat (using the aforementioned cat cookie recipe) and escaped. He met the Oracle of Llewdor who gave him some information about his past, and he learned about his sister, and the danger she was in. He booked passage on a ship bound for Daventry, but the crew turned out to be pirates, and he was captured by them, but was able to escape them also, through the use of one of his learned spells. He was able to learn more about his past from animals in Llewdor including his name, Alexander, and the names of his family. Eventually he made it to Daventry where he learned many more interesting pieces about his past. Including more about himself, and his name finally being confirmed. He fought the Three-headed Dragon killing it with a spell, which saved his sister. He showed her his birthmark to prove who he was. He still thought of himself as Gwydion many years after his return to Daventry, and treated the name Alexander as if it was just another identity that he wears much like a cloak. His full name became Alexander-GwydionKing's Quest Companion, 3rd Edition, 238 Behind the scenes Gwydion fab Dôn in Welsh mythology was the name of a son of the goddess Don. In the mythology he has connections to Manannan Mac Lir. Gwydion is a character in The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. This may be another connection between the names Gwydion and Alexander. The fact that there has been more than one Gwydion, according to the King's Quest Companion, 2nd Edition, may imply that Gwydion is a name that Manannan has given to all his slaves; in memory of the Welsh hero he once knew when he lived in the Other World. References